Feeding mechanism.



F. W. LEV.

FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILED 001.15, 1910. RENEWED JAN. 11, 1912. 1,025,282.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPII (30., WASHINGTON. u. c.

F. W. LEV.

FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILED OCT. 15, 1910. RENEWED JAN. 11, 1912. 1,025,282.

Patented May 7, 1912;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A tty COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPII co., WASHINGTON, n. :v

FRANK w. LEV, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

FEEDING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May '7, 1912.

Application filed October 15, 1910, Serial No. 587,180. Renewed January 11, 1912. Serial No. 670,727.

To all whom it may concern Be 'it known that I, FRANK W. LEV, a citizen of the Un1ted States of America,

residing at New York city, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to mechanism for feeding successively single sheets or blanks of flexible material and has especial reference to mechanism usually employed as an adjunct to packaging machines which operate to assemble and inclose articles in wrappers. The invention as herein illustrated, described and claimed embodies in itself a completely organized and operative device, but finds its greatest utility in conjoint operation with packaging machines of the general. character indicated.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a relatively simple construction of mechanism which may be operated at high speed to reliably feed singly and successively such articles as wrapper blanks of any suitable material. One of the main difficulties heretofore encountered in feeding devices of this character has beenthe tendency of the device when run at fairly high speed to feed either more than one blank at a time or to entirely miss feeding blanks at certain operations of the machine, and by my invention I obviate these defects and produce an.

apparatus which, irrespective of the speed of operation, may be absolutely relied upon to successively feed blanks one at a time whenever such feed is desired.

A further object is to combine these desirable qualities in a structure having the fewest parts consistent with eflicient operation, thus minimizing the cost of the device and the possible sources of operating troubles.

For the purpose of clearly disclosing the invention, 1 have illustrated the preferred embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevational View with parts broken away; Fig. 2 is a top plan view; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4: is a similar fragmentary view taken on the line 4c-4 of Fig. 2.

The invention contemplates a structure employing a stack holder supporting a stack or pile of suitably preformed blanks from which one blank at a time, usually the uppermost one, is separated from the remaining blanks and fed to any desirable place.

Referring in detail to the drawings, 10 designates the base of a preferably angular casing open at both ends, the lateral walls of the casing being designated 11 and 12 respectively. Movable between the walls 11 and 12 is the stack holder 13 which is adapted to support the stack or pile of blanks 14. The holder 13 is secured to or formed integrally with a follower 15 which is designed to extend through the base plate 10 into a depending guide sleeve 16, and encircling the follower and resting against the inner face of the plate 10 and the bottom of the holder 13 is a coiled spring 17 having a normal tendency to press the stack holder upward in the direction of the feeding mechanism hereinafter described.

Normally opposed to the tendency of the stack holder to move upwardly is a pair of presser members arranged near each end, respectively, of the stack of blanks, these presser members being operated by suitable mechanism to be alternately raised from the stack. During the raising of one of the presser members the uppermost blank is, by means appropriate for the purpose, detached from the stack and bent into curved form, and when the other presser member is raised, the inherent elasticity of the blank in conjunction with the means last mentioned, operates to effect a feeding movement of the blank.

A detailed description will now be given of the mechanism which in practice I find well adapted to perform the several functions abovereferred to.

18 designates the main shaft which is driven from any suitable source of power (not shown). The shaft 18 revolves in the direction of the arrow appearing thereon, and has fixed to one end thereof a bevel gear wheel 19 which meshes with a corresponding bevel gear wheel 20 fixed on the transverse shaft 21. Fixed on the shaft 21 are also the large spur gear wheel 22 and the smaller spur gear wheel 23 all being rotated from the intermeshing bevel wheels 19 and 20. The wheel 23 is in mesh with and rotates a spur wheel 23 which in turn meshes with and rotates a spur wheel 24 which is fixed on a shaft 25 carried in brackets 26 projecting upwardly from the machine frame. Upon the shaft 25 are the cam 27 (having the depression 28) and the spur wheel 29 both adapted to revolve in the direction of the arrow shown on cam 27.

Projecting upwardly from the machine frame is a pair of brackets 30 which support a rock shaft 31 to which is fixed an arm 32 the free end of which projects over the head 33 of a presser member 34, preferably of the configuration illustrated. The presser member has a stem 35 movable in a sleeve 36, there being a coiled spring 37 interposed between the sleeve and head, said spring havmember upwardly and out of contact with the pile of blanks on the stack holder. Extending rearwardly from the shaft is a lever arm 38 having one end secured to the shaft 31 and its opposite end being provided with a roller 39 adapted to follow the contour of the cam 27. The head 33 of the presser member 34 projects through a suitably formed opening in a cross bar 40 extending between and secured to the walls 11 and 12.

In line with the brackets 30 and extending upwardly from the machine frame is a second pair of brackets 41 in which a shaft 42 is adapted to rock. Fixed to the shaft 42 is an arm 43 the free end of which projects over the head 44 of a presser member 45, preferably shaped as shown in Fig. 3, the presser member having a stem 46 passing through a sleeve 47 and there being a coiled spring 48 between the head 44 and sleeve 47 which spring exerts a normal tendency to raise the presser member out of contact with the pile of blanks. Extending rearwardly from the shaft 42 is a lever arm 49 one end of which is fixed to the shaft 42 and the other end of which is provided with a roller 50 adapted to follow the contour of a substantially sector shaped cam 51 fixed on and revoluble with the shaft 25.

Mounted loosely on the shaft 25 is a pair of arms 52, 53 which at their free ends support a short shaft 54 upon which is fixed a roller 55 having a fluted or scored peripheral surface, said shaft 54 also having fixed thereon a spur gear wheel 56 which is in mesh with the spur wheel 29 upon the shaft 25. The arm 53 is elongated (Fig. 2)

and has projecting at right angles thereto a rod 57 to which is pivoted at 58 a crank arm 59 provided at its free end with a roller 60 adapted to travel on the irregular edge of a cam 61 fixed on the shaft 21. Coiled about a stud 62 projecting from thewall 12 and which stud acts as a fulcrum for the crank arm 59 is a spring 63 having one end abuttlng a rod 64 and its opposite end hook shaped and acting against the arm 59 and tending normally to force the latter upwardly. I Projecting outwardly from the wall 12 mg a normal tendency to draw the presser are two rods 64 and 65 connected by a bar or link 66 in which the shaft 21 is supported.

The large spur gear 22 meshes into a pinion 67 which in turn meshes with a gear wheel 68 fixed on a shaft 69 carrying a feed ing roller 70 which revolves in a plane slightly below the upper surface of the pile of blanks and is arranged closely adjacent to and in a depression 71 in a lateral wall 72 designed to prevent shifting of the blanks on the stack holder during the upward advance of the latter.

73 designates an idler loose on a shaft- 74 carried by arms 75 mounted loosely on a shaft 76. Blank guides 77 and 78 are ar ranged in proximity to the rollers last mentioned for guiding the blanks as they are fed from the machine.

The following description of the operation of feeding a blank will enable the invention to be clearly understood by those skilled in the art:Assuming the shaft 18 to be revolving, the intermeshing bevel gear wheels 19 and 20 will impart rotary motion to the shaft 21. Through the medium of the gear wheels 23, 23 and 24 the shaft 25 and with it the cam 27 revolves. The gear wheel 29 (on the shaft 25) is also revolving the gear wheel 56 which is fixed to the shaft 54 carrying the roller 55. When the roller 60 passes the elevated or tooth portion 61 of the cam 61 the crank arm 59 drops a short distance permitting the roller 55 to descend from the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 in which position it will be operating upon the uppermost blank in the pile. A

barely appreciable space of time after the roller 60 passes the cam tooth, the roller 39 on the arm 38 will drop into the depres sion 28 in the cam 27 thus elevating the arm 32 (full line position in Fig. 3) and permitting the spring 37 to raise the presser member 34 out of contact with the blanks on the stack holder. Very shortly after the presser member 34 has been raised the roller 60 glides over the flattened part 61 of the cam 61, whereby the fluted roller 55 is permitted to press fairly tightly against the uppermost blank and by its continued revolution to bend or belly it into the shape shown at 14 in Fig. 3. Throughout these several operations the presser member 45 has remained in contact with the forward end of the blank 14. At approximately the moment when the blank 14 has been bentinto the shape shown in Fig. 3, the roller 50 falls below the curved portion 51 of the cam 51 and rides on the lower lying curved surface 51 (the motion being indicated at Fig. 4 in the change from the dotted to the full line position), whereby the arm 49 descends raising the arm 43 and permitting the presser member 45 to be lifted free of the blank by the action of the spring 48. The presser member is preferably formed as shown in Fig. 8, so that the curvature of the presser member substantially conforms to the curvature of the blank when the latter is curved up. When the presser member 45 is raised the inherent elasticity of the blank conjointly with the action of the roller will cause the blank to quickly advance between the feed roller 70 and idler roller 73 and the blank will then pass between the guides 77 and 78 to any desired place.

In the foregoing specification I have described my invention in considerable de tail, but I desire it to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the details shown and described but its scope is to be determined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is 1. In a device of the character described, the combination with an automatically advancing stack holder adapted to support a pile of blanks, of a presser member at each end of said pile tending normally to move away from the pile, a double armed lever having one arm extending over one of said presser members and its opposite arm provided with a roller, a cam having an irregularly shaped edge upon which said roller is adapted to travel, and whereby the presser member is alternately raised and lowered, a roller adapted to buckle the uppermost blank in the pile, arms by which said last named roller is carried,a spring influenced crank arm connected with one of said last named arms, said crank arm having a roller at one end thereof, and a cam upon which said last named roller is adapted to travel, said cam being so shaped that said buckling roller is alternately raised and depressed out of and into contact with said pile.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with an automatically advancing stack holder adapted to support a pile of blanks, of a presser member at one end thereof having a curved face and a presser member at the opposite end of the pile substantially angular in form, a double armed lever in connection with each presser member, one arm of each lever extending over one of the presser members and the opposite arm of each lever being provided with a roller, a plurality of cams upon which said rollers travel and whereby said presser members are alternately raised from said pile, and a roller adapted to buckle the uppermost blank in the pile.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with an automatically advancing stack holder adapted to support a pile of blanks, of a presser member at one end thereof having a curved face, and a presser member at the opposite end of the pile substantially angular in form, a double armed lever in connection with each presser member, one arm of each lever extending over one of the presser members, and the opposite arm of each lever being provided with a roller, a plurality of cams upon which said rollers travel and whereby said presser members are alternately raised from said pile, a roller adapted to buckle the uppermost blank in the pile, and means whereby said buckling roller is alternately moved into and out of contact with the pile of blanks.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination with a stack holder adapted to support a pile of blanks, of a spring influenced presser member adapted to exert pressure on each end of said pile, a pair of rock shafts each having an arm extending over one of said presser members, a lever arm on each of said rock shafts each said lever arm having a roller at the end thereof, a pair of irregularly shaped cams on which said rollers are adapted to travel and whereby the first mentioned arms are alternately raised from the presser members, and a blank deforming member operable intermediate the presser members.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK W. LEV.

Witnesses CLAUSIA FRANcK, OTTO MUNK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

